The present invention relates in general to multicircuit electric switches, and more particularly to low cost selector switches used to control domestic appliances such as clothes washers and dryers, cooking ranges, and dishwashers.
Such a selector switch typically contains a plurality of switching elements actuated by a single control knob rotated by a user to select and establish the operating mode of an appliance associated with the switch. For example, such a switch mounted on a cooking range control panel interconnects heating elements and related control and power elements of the range, to provide a baking mode, a normal broiling mode, a speed broiling mode, or a self-cleaning oven mode.
It is well known in the art that the domestic appliance manufacturing business is extremely cost-competitive. Thus, there is a continuing need for cost reduction of components used in manufacturing such appliances.
A selector switch of the type noted, while required to be as low as possible in cost, must also meet stringent reliability and longevity requirements, since the typical domestic appliance incorporating such a selector switch may be in daily use for many years.
The cost of the selector switch includes not only the cost of the materials used and the cost of labor in forming the parts of the switch, but also the cost of assembling the parts to form the switch. It is also important that the selector switch be connectable in circuit in a fast and facile manner to minimize assembly costs of the appliance in which it is incorporated.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a highly reliable and long-lived, cost effective switch that can be readily connected in circuit without the need for terminals fastened to the wire ends to be mechanically and electrically connected to the switch.
In a further aspect, the present invention provides a selector switch composed in part of a plurality of identical components easily manufactured from conventional stock materials.
In a still further aspect of the present invention, subassembly components of the switch are modular in nature so as to provide for a more or less complex switch, depending upon the number of modulelike subassemblies incorporated into the switch.